Wide armed turnstile rotor



May 9,. 1967 Filed June 30, 1965 w. A. LAMBERTSON WIDE ARMED TURNSTILE ROTOR 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 May 9, 1967 w. A. LAMBERTSON WIDE ARMED T URNSTILE ROTOR 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed June 30, 1965 United States Patent 3,318,046 WIDE ARMED TURNSTILE ROTOR William A. Lambertson, Staten Island, N.Y., assignor to Percy Manufacturing Co., Inc., New York, N.Y., a corporation of New York Filed June 30, 1965. Ser. No. 468,335 1 Claim. (CI. 4942) This invention relates to a turnstile and refers more particularly to a turnstile having a special rotor arm construction for preventing more than one person using the turnstile at one time.

Turnstiles such as are used at transit facilities, sports arenas, etc. are generally intended to be used by a single user only at one time. However, in the instances where a turnstile installation is used to admit persons to a particular area on a fee or admission fare basis, it is not an uncommon practice for more than one user to enter the turnstile at the same time so as to obtain admission for a single fee. Coin-operated turnstiles are well known in the art and usually include a coin box wherein a person must deposit the admission fee as a prerequisite for unlocking the turnstile to thus free the rotor for rotation and admit the person to the particular area.

It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide a turnstile which prohibits the entry of more than one person at a time to a turnstile controlled area.

Another object is to provide a turnstile which is believed safer in use than prior art turnstiles in that it is of relatively wide open arm construction, is brighter and does not engender in the user a feeling or sense of confinement while walking therethrough.

A particular embodiment of the turnstile of the present invention is provided with the usual cage structure embodying a row of fixed arms constituting a barrier at one side, a rotor whereon is mounted a plurality of rotor arms arranged in vertical rows, and a cage liner defining with adjacent rows of rotor arms a walking space. The rotor arms may have various shapes as, for example, a generally triangular plan shape and are angularly spaced around the axis of the turnstile. The arms in an upper and lower series of each row are preferably narrower than a middle series of the arms in each row, and need only be several inches in width. The center series arms, however, are made with considerably greater widths than the upper and lower series arms, the purpose of the latter being to thus diminish the span between the middle series arms in each row and so restrict the space therebetween generally to that in which only one person may stand in the turnstile at any given moment.

The invention will appear more clearly from the following detailed description when taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings showing by way of example a preferred embodiment of the inventive concept.

In the drawings:

FIGURE 1 is a perspective view of a rotary turnstile embodying the widened rotor arms of the present invention.

FIGURE 2 is a front elevation of the turnstile shown in FIGURE 1.

FIGURE 3 is a sectional view as taken along line 33 in FIGURE 2.

Throughout the specification, like reference numerals are used to indicate like parts.

Referring now in detail to FIGURE -1 of the drawings, the turnstile comprises a cage-like structure having a post 12 at one side whereon is mounted a vertical row of fixed arms 14 constituting an impenetrable barrier. At the opposite side of the cage is an arcuate cage liner 16 which with adjacent vertical rows 18 of radial arms 20 on the turnstile rotor 22 defines a space 24 through .which the person walks when using the turnstile. The particu- 3,313,046 Patented May 9, 1967 lar turnstile illustrated is intended to be entered from the front side, that is, the side nearest the viewer and operates in a counterclockwise direction as indicated by the arrow to permit the person to exit at the rear of the turnstile. The turnstile also includes means (not shown) which prevent a clockwise or reverse rotation of the rotor. It will be apparent, however, that the turnstile may also be adapted for use in both a clockwise and counterclockwise direction. The turnstile also includes a fare box assembly 26 which incorporates mechanism (not shown) for unlocking the rotor 22 for movement upon deposit of the requisite admission fare or insertion therein of a coded card.

In the illustrated embodiment of FIGURE 1, the turnstile rotor 22 is mounted for rotation about a central turnstile vertical axis 28 as at 30 and 32 and may consist of a single solid member or a series of vertically arranged interconnected structural members suited for the intended purpose of supporting the rotor arms 20 radially thereabout in the vertically arranged rows 18.

The turnstile illustrated is a three-arm type, that is, it is comprised of three rows of vertically arranged rotor arms, each row being of sutficient height to permit a person to walk through the turnstile in an erect position.

Each row 18 of arms 20 is comprised of an upper 34, middle 36, and lower 38 series of arms with the arms being of generally flat construction having a somewhat greater width than thickness as contrasted with the style of arms generally prevalent in prior art turnstiles wherein the arms usually have a square or circular section. The two lowermost arms 66 in each row may have a square shape as shown.

All of the arms in the embodiment shown are illustrated as being connected with the turnstile rotor by means of welding as at 40 by way of example only. Obviously, and for reasons of safety including ready disassembly of the arms from the rotor, various other connector means for connecting the arms radially to the rotor may be employed such as brackets having sockets for receiving the arms, the brackets being bolted to the rotor.

As seen in FIGURES l to 3, the upper 34 and lower 38 series arms in each row are preferably identical in shape and each includes parallel upper and lower fiat surfaces 41 and 42 respectively, vertical side surfaces 44 and 46 which diverge radially outwardly of the rotor 22 at an acute angle, and an arcuate outer or circumferential periphery 48 as best seen in FIGURE 3. In plan then, each arm in the upper and lower series arms has an inner end section 50 of regular square or rectangular shape which merges with a generally triangular outer section 52. In practice, a maximum outer end width of approxi mately ten inches was found satisfactory for use on the upper-34 and lower 38 series arms, whereas a maximum outer end width of approximately 18 inches is used for the middle series 36 arms. The width of the arm inner sections are preferably about two inches.

As seen in FIGURES 2 and 3, each middle series 36 arm likewise has a generally flat shape with parallel upper and lower surfaces 41a, 42a respectively, and vertical side surfaces 44a, 4611, the side surfaces diverging at a greater angle in these arms than the corresponding sides on the upper and lower series arms. The net effect of making the middle series arms substantially wider than the upper and lower series arms is to diminish the angular distance between near sides of 'the middle series arms of adjacent rows. This angular spacing is generally sufi'icient to permit a single person to stand erect comfortably between adjacent rows of arms but is considerably less than that needed to permit two persons to stand erect therein.

Although the middle series 36 arms are as indicated of a width that precludes more than one person standing in a the turnstile at one time, the lower series 38 arms are still not too wide to preclude a persons taking a normal full stride while walking through the turnstile. In practice, the middle series arms are preferably spaced at a distance of approximately 3 to 4 /2 feet from the bottom of the turnstile. In this manner, the wide rotor arms extend from generally the lower part of a persons torso to about chest level.

In use, the person enters the turnstile from the front with the rotor being locked in the position shown in FIG- URE 1, simultaneously depositing in fare box assembly 26, the requisite admission fare or inserting therein a coded card. The latter will unlock the rotor 22 so that all the person need do is push against the middle series 36 arms in the manner shown in FIGURE 3, While at the same time take a full walking stride. The narrower width lower series 38 arms offer no obstacle to the latter. When the person reaches the back of the turnstile and has access to the particular area, the turnstile rotor will be locked by suitable means (not shown), the arms having moved 120 from the position shown in FIGURE 1.

The wide turnstile rotor arms of the present invention among other things, are advantageous from the standpoint of the sense of security they give a person walking through the turnstile in that the entire structure is relatively wide open and the relative closer positioning of the arms to the persons body, makes it easier for him to reach out and push the turnstile rotor while at the same time has sufficient room to move his legs through a full walking stride.

It is seen from the foregoing that a most important advantage of the wide arm turnstile rotor of the present invention is that it precludes the unauthorized passage of more than one person through a turnstile at one time when the turnstile is intended to be used in conjunction with a fare or passage payment. The wide angled arms in the middle series as well as the narrower upper and lower series arms are also of a pleasing streamlined contour helping to enhance the overall physical appearance of the turnstile.

While there is above disclosed but one embodiment of the wide arm turnstile rotor of the present invention, it is possible to produce still other embodiments without departing from the scope of the inventive concept herein disclosed, and accordingly it should be understood that all matter contained in the above description or shown in the accompanying drawings should be interpreted as illustrative and not in a limiting sense.

What is claimed is:

In a turnstile rotor carrying vertical rows of radial arms thereon with the arms in each row being arranged symmetrically about a vertical plane passing through the rotor axis, with the planes associated with the several rows being uniformly angularly spaced, the arms in each row being radially coextensive with each other, the improvement wherein the arms in each row are constituted of an upper, a middle, and a lower series of arms, the upper and lower series arms in each row being of identical shape and having each an inner section of regular shape and an outer section having vertical side surfaces, the outer section uniformly increasing in Width in a direction away from said inner section, the middle series arms in each row being of identical shape and having each an inner section and an outer section having vertical side surfaces, the outer section of each middle series arms increasing in width in a direction away from its associated inner section at a greater divergence than the outer section of each upper and lower series arm whereby the side surfaces of the middle series arms of one row are angularly spaced a lesser distance from the near side surfaces of the middle series arms of the adjacent rows than the side surfaces of the upper and lower series arms of said one row are spaced from the side surfaces of the corresponding upper and lower series arms of said adjacent rows.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,342,253 6/1920 Collins 49-46 2,170,192 8/1939 Gersbach et a1 49-42 2,258,896 10/1941 Kelker 49-42 2,309,893 2/1943 Gersbach 49-46 DAVID J. WILLIAMOWSKY, Primary Examiner. REINALDO P. MACHADO, Examiner. D. L. TAYLOR, Assistant Examiner. 

